The NHL officials blew two big calls to force two double overtime losses in Los Angeles. While the New York Rangers did not deserve to win the cup because of their effort or lack thereof, it would have been a totally different series if the games were officiated properly.
“You try not to get frustrated knowing how close we were,” Lundqvist said via NYTimes.
In game two of the Stanley Cup Finals the Los Angeles Kings scored their game tying goal in the third on what could have easily been called goalie interference. Granted there was 18 minutes left in the third and anything could have happened, but with a Kings forward in Lundqvist’s blue area, the goal should not have been good. Although with McDonough all over the forward it was a hard call to make. The Kings went on to win 5-4 in double OT.
Moving on to game five, the Rangers were up 2-1 with just under 13 minutes left in the game when Mats Zuccarello was called for a tripping penalty on Kings defender Jake Muzzin. While Zuccarello was given two minutes in the box, it was Muzzin that should have been penalized. He clearly stuck his leg out to trip Zuccarello, but he still got the call. The Kings scored 15 seconds into the power play.
With that said the Kings out-shot the Rangers 51-30 including 12-3 in the third period. This whole series the Rangers shot themselves in the foot when they switched to a defensive minded game after taking the lead.
It is hard to win when the stat lines heavily favor one team. The Kings started their dominance early ending the first period leading in shots (7-6), hits (10-8), faceoffs (9-7) and blocked shots (4-3) according to USAToday. They have now won the Stanley cup in two of the last three seasons.